Delimitation Commission to Visit J&K, Meet Officials From 6-9 July

The commission will also be interacting with political parties and district commissioners during the visit.

14 Jammu & Kashmir political leaders have been invited for a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in which delimitation is likely to be discussed.

(Photo: Kamran Akhter/The Quint)

The Delimitation Commission, which is led by former Supreme Court judge Ranjana Prakash Desai, will visit Jammu and Kashmir to carve out new constituencies from 6-9 July.

According to an Election Commission spokesperson, during the visit, the commission will be also be interacting with mainstream political parties and district commissioners to gain a sense of assembly seats.

“During the visit period, the commission will interact with political parties, public representatives and Union Territory administration officials including district election officers/deputy commissioners of 20 districts of the UT to gather first hand information and input concerning the ongoing process of delimitation as mandated under the Jammu & Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019,” reported PTI, quoting an Election Commission (EC) spokesperson.

The delimitation commission, reportedly, has already conducted a series of meetings regarding the demographic data of different constituencies in the region.

"Earlier, it invited all associate members for interaction, which were participated by two of the associate members. A number of representations have also been received on various aspects concerning delimitation from civil societies and members of the public from the UT,” reported PTI, quoting EC spokesperson.

In a first, the commission will also be carving out constituencies to be reserved for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled tribes in the Valley.

The all-party meeting called by Prime Minister Narendra Modi with political leaders of Jammu and Kashmir concluded after more than three hours on 24 June, with the attendees later telling the media that the Centre expressed its commitment to the restoration of statehood.

"The Home Minister (Amit Shah) said the government is committed to granting statehood to Jammu and Kashmir. All leaders demanded full-fledged statehood," Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad was quoted as saying after the meeting.

‘PM Assured to Make J&K a Zone of Peace Rather Than Conflict’

Congress' Ghulam Nabi Azad pointed out that five demands were kept in the meeting, including granting of statehood soon, conducting Assembly elections to restore democracy, rehabilitation of Kashmiri Pandits, release of all political detainees, and one pertaining to domicile rules.

"Almost 80 percent of parties spoke on Article 370, but the matter is sub-judice in court," he added.

J&K Apni Party leader Altaf Bukhari too pointed out that the PM said they were committed to the restoration of statehood, adding that the talks were held in a 'good atmosphere'.

"The prime minister heard issues of all the leaders. The PM said that election process will begin when delimitation process finishes... The PM asked all to participate in the delimitation process. We have been assured that this is the roadmap towards elections," Bukhari was quoted as saying by ANI.